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Ancestors and the Forest among the Brou of Vietnam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

Gábor Vargyas
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Extract

The Brou people, whom we shall be discussing here, belong to the ancient Austro-Asiatic stock of the Indochinese peninsula. They are spread out on either side of the border separating Vietnam and Laos and settled in particular to the north of Route Nine, which joins Savannakhet (Laos) to Dong Ha (the Vietnamese provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri), with their area of the greatest concentration being the district of Huyen Huong Hoa (Khe Sanh) where we studied them.

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 44 , Issue 174 , January 1996 , pp. 117 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

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References

Notes

1. Yiang in brou language means "spirit," "divinity," "genie." The term is similar to notions of yang and yaang that are to be found in other Austro-Asiatic societies.

2. The main unifying bond in Brou society is exogamous patrilineage (ntang) which is forged essentially in the course of ritual activities. The residential pattern in this society is patrilocal.

3. The more recently deceased comprise three or four rising generations.

4. The clan is distinguished from lineage in that the common origin is assumed since it cannot be demonstrated.

5. The sacrificial animals are ranked within a hierarchy that is related to their size. At the bottom one finds the chickens, then above them the pig and the goat, with the buffalo at the top of the hierarchy. The sacrifice in question here relates at least to a pig.